Personal chair, Head of School
- About
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- Email Address
- j.mcevoy@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 272724
- Office Address
F43 Edward Wright Building
- School/Department
- School of Social Science
Biography
I am Head of Social Science and Professor of Politics.
I have a PhD from Queen's University Belfast and was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Penn Program in Ethnic Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania. I joined Aberdeen as a Research Fellow (Leverhulme Trust), appointed Lecturer in 2010, Senior Lecturer in 2015 and Professor in 2023.
I am interested in the politics of deeply divided societies. My work has been published as monographs (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), (Palgrave Macmillan 2012, with David Galbreath), an edited volume (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013, with Brendan O'Leary) and articles in journals including the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Cooperation and Conflict, Democratization, Government and Opposition, Ethnopolitics, Irish Studies in International Affairs, Journal of European Integration, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Security Dialogue, and Nationalism and Ethnic Politics.
I am Co-Investigator on the project INCLUSIVEPEACE, exploring citizen inclusion in power-sharing settlements. The ORA7 funded project is led by PIs in the UK (Prof Neo Loizides, Warwick University), Canada (Prof Allison McCulloch, Brandon University), Japan (Prof Yuji Uesugi, Waseda University) and New Caledonia (Prof Mathias Chauchat, University of New Caledonia). Funded over three years in seven cases (Bosnia, Cyprus, Lebanon, New Caledonia, Northern Ireland, the Philippines, and South Africa).
I also research the diversity of voices on constitutional change in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland post-Brexit. This work has been in collaboration with Professor Jennifer Todd and Dr Dawn Walsh (University College Dublin) and funded by the Irish Research Council and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Our research draws on focus groups, interviews and deliberation with groups largely disengaged from constitutional politics (women's groups, ethnic minorities, and youth).
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Head of Social Science (from October 2024)
Head of Department, PIR (Sep 2022-Oct 2024)
REF Lead, Politics and International Relations, REF2021
PhD Coordinator, PIR
Social Science PG Committee
Social Science Research Committee
Academic Line Manager, PIR
- External Memberships
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External Examiner, MSc Peace and Conflict, Ulster University
Formerly External Examiner, MSc International Cooperation & Conflict, University of Stirling
- Research
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Research Overview
- Ethnic Conflict and Peace Processes
- The role of International Organisations in Post-Conflict Peace-Building
- Power-Sharing in Deeply Divided Places
- Minority Rights in Europe
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Politics and International Relations.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Current Research
I am Co-Investigator on the project INCLUSIVEPEACE, exploring citizen inclusion in power-sharing settlements. The ORA7 funded project is led by PIs in the UK (Prof Neo Loizides, University of Kent), Canada (Prof Allison McCulloch, Brandon University), Japan (Prof Yuji Uesugi, Waseda University) and New Caledonia (Prof Mathias Chauchat, University of New Caledonia). With more than 20 researchers worldwide, this international project is funded with £1.6million over three years in seven cases (Bosnia, Cyprus, Lebanon, New Caledonia, Northern Ireland, the Philippines, and South Africa). Mixed methods, it combines public opinion surveys and qualitative research case study research to investigate citizen inclusion in the adoption, operation and evolution of power-sharing settlements in divided and conflict-affected societies.
I have recently completed three research projects on the diversity of voices on constitutional change in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland post-Brexit. In collaboration with Professor Jennifer Todd (funded by the Irish Research Council), we designed a series of mini deliberative events with women's groups in local settings across Northern Ireland and the border region. Two other projects, in collaboration with Professor Jennifer Todd and Dr Dawn Walsh (UCD), funded by the Irish Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, mapped the diversity of voices on constitutional change to understand who these other groups are, how they approach constitutional debate, and how they would wish to participate in any future deliberative process. Our research drew on focus groups and interviews with groups largely disengaged from mainstream constitutional politics (women's groups, ethnic minorities, and youth). Research findings have been published in the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Cooperation and Conflict, and Irish Studies in International Affairs.
I was previously Co-Investigator (with Prof Allison McCulloch, Brandon University) on an Insight Development Grant funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The project investigated the normative and instrumental reasons why third-party mediators turn to power-sharing strategies during peace negotiations. We published our findings in Cooperation and Conflict and the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, as well as policy papers and conference presentations.
Funding and Grants
Negotiating Difference on a Shared Island? (Irish Research Council, 2021-2022) (with Professor Jennifer Todd, University College Dublin)
Mapping the Multiplicity of Voices on Constitutional Change in Northern Ireland post-Brexit (Irish Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2020-2021) (with Professor Jennifer Todd and Dr Dawn Walsh, UCD)
Giving Voice to Diversity: Plural Perspectives on Constitutional Change in the Republic of Ireland (Irish Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2020-2021) (with Professor Jennifer Todd and Dr Dawn Walsh, UCD)
The External Governance of Power-Sharing Settlements (Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2017-2019) (with Dr Allison McCulloch, Brandon University)
Designing Good Governance in Two Post-War Societies (Bosnia and Lebanon) (Scottish Funding Council) (with Dr John Nagle, University of Aberdeen)
UN-EU Cooperation in Peacebuilding, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
- War and Peace in International Politics (4th year undergraduate)
- Introduction to Politics and International Relations (1st year undergraduate)
- Protest and Peace in Divided Societies, MSc Political Activism and Campaigning
- Publications
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Page 1 of 3 Results 1 to 10 of 27
Navigating Multiple Party Systems Across the UK and Ireland: The Conservative Party and Sinn Féin
Political Change across Britain and Ireland: Identities, Institutions and Futures. Gillespie, P., Keating, M., McEwen, N. (eds.). Edinburgh University PressChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersConclusion:: The Lifecycle of Power-Sharing across the Global South
Power-Sharing in the Global South: Patterns, Practices and Potentials. Aboultaif, E. W., Keil, S., McCulloch, A. (eds.). 1 edition. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 353–373Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)- [ONLINE] https://link.springer.com/book/9783031457203
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45721-0_16
Obstacles to Constitutional Participation: Lessons from Diverse Voices in Post-Brexit Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
British Journal of Politics and International Relations, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 170-186Contributions to Journals: ArticlesScaling Up from Everyday Concerns to Territorial Politics and Constitutional Debate: Deliberation among Women in the Irish border Area
Territory, Politics, GovernanceContributions to Journals: ArticlesConstitutional Inclusion in Divided Societies: Conceptual Choices, Practical Dilemmas, and the Contribution of the Grassroots in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
Cooperation and Conflict, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 393 - 413Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTime for Deliberation, not Decision, on the Shape of a New United Ireland: Evidence from the ARINS Survey Focus Groups
Irish Studies in International Affairs, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 122-148Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPower-Sharing Challenges: From Weak Adoptability to Dysfunction in Iraq
Ethnopolitics, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 238-257Contributions to Journals: ArticlesParticipatory Constitutionalism and the Agenda for Constitutional Change: Socio-economic Issues in Irish Constitutional Debates
Irish Studies in International Affairs, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 140-171Contributions to Journals: ArticlesUnderstanding Power-Sharing Performance: A Lifecycle Approach
Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 109-116Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/sena.12326
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
'Bumps in the Road Ahead': How External Actors Defuse Power-Sharing Crises
Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 216-235Contributions to Journals: Articles